Stoller Chemical Company

No further Superfund environmental response actions are required on this former hazardous waste container storage facility in Plainview, Hale County.

Site Background

The Stoller Chemical Company, Inc., (Stoller Chemical) site is located at 5200 North Columbia Street, east of the intersection of Hwy. 87 and Business 87, north of Plainview. The Stoller Chemical facility has been inactive since March 1992 when Stoller filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The site occupies 4.99 acres, and included a warehouse, a fenced storage area and an abandoned cattle trailer containing leaking drums of hazardous waste. The warehouse contained formulating/mixing vats, leftover fertilizer products and a channel sump system. Tests indicated the site was contaminated with heavy metals and 4,4'-DDE. On October 24, 1995, TNRCC and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel conducted a preliminary assessment at the site. Between January 6 and 9, 1998, TNRCC used state funds to remove the 25 drums from the cattle trailer. After the removal action, some drums and storage containers of hazardous wastes remained at the Stoller site pending further investigation and remedial activities.

Superfund Actions Taken to Date

May 15, 2000, a hazard ranking system (HRS) documentation record was prepared for the Stoller Chemical Company site.

July 14, 2000, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (25 TexReg 6851) describing the site, proposing the site for listing on the state Superfund registry, and proposing nonresidential land use specifications for remediation of the site contamination. The land use designation may be considered in any remedial action proposed for the site. A public meeting to receive citizen comments was to be held at the City of Plainview City Council chamber on August 16, 2000.

July 26, 2000, TNRCC issued a work order to construct a fence around the site perimeter to limit unauthorized acess, and post signs on the fence warning of contamination. The contractor was authorized to start the remedial investigation scope of work.

August 16, 2000, citizens commented on the proposal of the site for listing on the Superfund registry and received explanatory responses to questions and concerns at the public meeting held at the Plainview City Council chambers.

September 1, 2000, a site perimeter fence was constructed to limit unauthorized access and signs were posted warning of contamination.

December 10-12, 2001, the contractor conducted additional remedial investigation activities: additional sampling of the soils, decontaminating of the building slab, taking wipe samples and concrete chips of the slab, and disposing of the 55-gallon drums and their contents.

February 12, 2002, the contractor removed and disposed of the wastes in the aboveground storage tanks.

May 23, 2002, TNRCC issued a work order to remove and dispose of the aboveground storage tanks, 55-gallon drums and various containers located at the site. Soil sampling and off-site disposal of the waste was included in the work order.

July 12, 2002, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register, (27 TexReg 6453-6454) of the intent to take no further remedial action at the site and proposing to delete the site from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC §335.344(c). The site no longer presents an endangerment to public health and the environment. A public meeting to receive comment on the proposed deletion of the site and the determination to take no further action was scheduled August 15, 2002, at the Plainview City Hall.

July 25, 2002, TNRCC approved the technical memorandum for remedial investigation that included the results of the removal and sampling of the remaining soils and the groundwater. The memorandum showed that the cleanup was completed and the site did not pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment for industrial or commercial use.

August 1, 2002, due to a failure to provide proper local public notification, the public meeting scheduled for August 15, 2002, was cancelled. The public meeting on the intent to delete the site from the state Superfund registry was to be rescheduled.

August 7, 2002, the TNRCC project manager concluded that no further remedial action is warranted at the site, and that conditions at the site met commercial/industrial (nonresidential) cleanup criteria established by the Texas Risk Reduction Program.

August 9, 2002, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (27 TexReg 7298) of the postponement of the public meeting on intent to delete the site from the Superfund registry. The original meeting, scheduled for August 15, 2002, was cancelled.

August 23, 2002, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (27 TexReg 8047-8048) rescheduling the postponed public meeting on intent to delete the site from the Superfund registry. The meeting was scheduled October 1, 2002, at the Plainview City Hall council chambers.

September 1, 2002, effective date of the name change from Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

October 1, 2002, a public meeting was held at the Plainview City Hall council chambers to receive comment on the proposed deletion of the site and the determination to take no further action. No comments or challenges were received on the determination that the site no longer presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment.

November 8, 2002, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (27 TexReg 10640-10641) officially deleting Stoller Chemical from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC 335.344(c). No challenges or comments were received on the determination that the site no longer posed an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. No further remedial action planned.

December 17, 2002, a notice of a lien against the property was recorded in Hale County, seeking to recover the state's portion of costs associated with site activities to date.